T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form does not worry Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir since “failures are inevitable” when the team is focused on playing an extremely aggressive style of cricket.
Under his captaincy, India won the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates last month, although Suryakumar’s personal batting performance was lacking, scoring just 72 runs in seven innings. But the head coach of the team supports him.
“Honestly, Surya’s batting form doesn’t concern me because we have committed to an ultra-aggressive template in our dressing room. When you embrace this philosophy, failures are inevitable,” Gambhir said during a discussion on JioHotstar.
“It would be easy for Surya to score 40 runs off 30 balls and avoid criticism, but we have collectively decided that it’s acceptable to fail while pursuing this approach,” he added.
Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma, for example, lit up the event with their blazing batting while Surya struggled with the willow.
Gambhir stated that the team as a whole is the main focus rather than individual players.
“Currently, Abhishek Sharma is in good form and has maintained it throughout the Asia Cup. When Surya finds his rhythm, he will shoulder the responsibility accordingly.
“In T20 cricket, our focus isn’t on individual runs but on the brand of cricket we want to play. With our aggressive style, batters may fail more often, but impact ultimately matters more than mere runs,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir discussed his ambition for creating a courageous team culture and his collaboration with Suryakumar during the conversation.
“Surya is a great human being, and good humans make good leaders. While he speaks highly of me, my role is simply to advise him fairly based on my reading of the game. Ultimately, this is his team.
“His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket’s essence, it’s about freedom and expression. Your off-field personality reflects on the field and in the dressing room, and Surya has maintained this atmosphere brilliantly over the past 1.5 years,” Gambhir said.
“From our first conversation, we agreed: we will not fear losing. I don’t aim to be the most successful coach; I want us to be the most fearless team,” the head coach said.
Gambhir acknowledged that in their quest to become a fearless outfit, his players will inevitably make mistakes.
“In big games like the Asia Cup final, I told the players it’s okay to drop a catch, play a bad shot, or bowl a poor delivery. Human beings make mistakes. Only the opinions of those in the dressing room matter.
“Surya and I consistently agree: we will never fear mistakes. The bigger the game, the more fearless and aggressive we must be. A conservative approach only gives the opposition an advantage. With the talent we have, if we play fearlessly, we will be fine,” Gambhir said.
India won the Asia Cup after defeating Pakistan in the final.
